Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock is trending and is down about 1% after TSLA delivered its first, full-sized electric trucks to PepsiCo (NYSE:PEP). Called the Tesla Semi, the EV can travel 500 miles, while fully loaded, on a single charge.

Tesla did not report exactly how many trucks would be provided to Pepsi. And the news doesn’t seem to be helping TSLA stock much this morning.

In 2020, former Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) CEO Bill Gates wrote that electric trucks “will probably never be a practical solution for things like 18-wheelers.” And the head of Daimler’s (OTCMKTS:DTRUY) truck unit said that the Tesla Semi would not be able to carry a full load 500 miles, due to the “laws of physics.”

More About the Tesla Semi

According to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the Semi “has triple the power [of] any diesel truck on the road right now.” The fact that the EV can haul a full load 500 miles on a single charge also makes it “efficient,” Musk said.

And each of the Semis can save companies as much as $70,000 per year, compared with diesel-powered trucks. Moreover, the Semi has no gears, versus traditional trucks which have between 10 and 18 gears.

The Semi uses three engines, two of which can be shut down when not needed. Also noteworthy is that, in order to meet the Semi’s charging needs, TSLA will start adding to its public chargers “new megawatt class chargers and cables to deliver three times the current density” of its current chargers. That technology is expected to be launched by the end of 2023.

First unveiled as a concept back in 2017, the Semi was not delivered until yesterday, partly because of supply chain difficulties.

On the date of publication, Larry Ramer held no positions in any companies mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.